Corsica was owned by the French from the late 18th century. I believe before that it was Italian. My ancestor fought in Napoleons army in the battles of Austerlitz, Jena and Danzig. His name was Carlo Andrea Gagiano, born in Corsica in around 1784. Was held captive in England in Chatham and moved to South Africa in 1820. He is regarded as one of the founding surnames (known as Stammoeders) in South African history and he has many descendants, both in South Africa and across the USA, however all records begin with him. There is no information available to source his birth, details of siblings or parents. Does anyone have any ideas of where we can begin to look?

This is the information I have pulled from the Pretoria and Cape Town archives in South Africa. I am slightly at a loss as to where or how to look. Some records indicate that he was born in Corsica and others show Mersailles. I see that you are a Gagiano. Did any of your ancestors emigrate to South Africa?